Looking Back With Gratitude | Looking Forward with Hope

Mic Altena

Published 17 January 2020

Happy new year and new decade!

I hope you’re as excited as I am about the possibilities this new decade will bring.

2019 was an incredible year for L’Arche Chicago, and I want to take this moment to thank you for being an important part of our community. Last year, we hosted hundreds of guests around the dinner tables in our homes, led several workshops for our local community, went on dozens of trips (including an entire community weekend getaway to Clinton, Iowa for all 30 of us!), shared time engaging in retreat and formation programing, welcomed new core members and assistants, and shared countless laughs and tears while living as a radical sign of community in the Chicagoland area. All of that is to say, L’Arche Chicago is full of life!

We are also excited to be exploring new models and expressions of what L’Arche could look like in this city. Your generous support and continued friendship allows us to continue providing high-quality, individualized care and support to the core members, as well as to create new and innovate ways of celebrating the value of each person by creating a dynamic community of friends. We had so much fun seeing the flood of generous gifts during the Giving Tuesday and end of year season. Each donation is to us an affirmation of the work and mission of L’Arche. Thank you!

I would love to hear your stories of how the people and mission of L’Arche has made an impact in your life. We are an organization that seeks and values input and feedback – please consider reaching out to share your thoughts about how you desire L’Arche to grow. Feel free to reach out to me any time [mic@larchechicago.org]. I’m eager to follow up with you!

On behalf of everyone at L’Arche Chicago, we wish you a happy and successful 2020, and we can’t wait to share more life-moments with you – soon! There is always a spot for you around one of our dinner tables!